34- , ...". W.="l-' . . ;...; y $..,;, "><Ij.. ""*" " "' " ,,", ""..- \ '\ "; :. , " þ " \, 1 ) .; f ,. , .... "M t " :1 )>..... ._""-.... ""'-, $: 't i I t 4, rJ , tÇ f v , If' 'I", " SEPTEMDER 2, 9, 1975 Þ; blackening, his ears exploding, his lungs flayed by the alien pu- rity of the air, pinned him to the present. When F arouq told him .they were over the head of the pass and that on the morrow it would be easier going, he was incapable of re- lief. It was only by a change of ache that he realized they were go- ing downhIll through cultivated fields and orchards, that above them the wind was blowing a mane of snow off the skyline, that below them was a lake, sunk in a deep valley, with a scatter of villas and cypresses round it. He was so stiff that when they got to Fa- rouq's house he had to be carried in to it There he was put into a bath, rubbed and oiled, shampooed and manicured; then laid in bed and given chick- en jelly and an orgeat. "I am in the King- dom of the P eris," he thought. "Tomorrow I Inay meet their Queen." He licked the spoon and fell asleep. "'Then he woke, the Purveyor's voice-he was talking to SOll1eone about woodcocks-was al- ready familiar. A servant brought in his clothes. They had been cleaned, re- paired, and strongly perfumed. After a pause, another servant brought coffee and cinnamon toast. Later, the Purveyor came in and asked If he felt sufficientlv .I restored for a short trip to the island where Queen Pehlevi would receive hilTI. Again he was washed, rubbed, and oiled; he was shaved, his hair was cut, he was incensed with a thurible. There was a long interval, during which he listened to some noisy birds: if they were bulbuls, they were not what his Persian gralTIlTIar had given him to expect. The Purveyor's voice came and went. At last he reappeared, finely dressed. Coffee was served them in an arbor, where there was a vie\\T of the lake and the island. Joost expected a boat, and found they were about to fly The lake was larger than he ex- pected, the island smaller. It was plant- ed all over with blossoming trees and i j /ft !<." y.. .., J 4 ';.w .. , 'f t I I , ,.,. o t ' ."\ f . . ",' ((1 don)t mznd the chirping of the birds or the buzzzng of the bees) but the murmuring of those pznes and hemlocks is driving me nuts!)) round a booth, and trying to under- stand the vender's commendations, when Tomkin pulled his sleeve. Behind Tomkin stood a small elderly person with a beard and painted eyebrows. He bowed and bade Joost welcome, speaking in what was recognizably a form of Elfin. From the way he omit- ted TomkIn from an invitation to drink at a tavern, he was recognizably a fairy of quality. Introducing himself as Farouq, the Court Purveyor, he ex- plained that he had come to buy fish, and was Just about to depart when Tomkin halted him wIth the news that an Elfin from Europe was honoring the market by his presence. "We can show you better things than this mor- tal clutter," the Purveyor said. "D n- doubtedly, We have met by destiny. Can you ride a camel " Three camels were waiting. Fa- rouq's two servants and the fish were loaded on the third, Joost was assisted onto the second. Its gait was dIscon- certing, his height above the ground (* ') , p" ','Y If Jt. ,;/ " ! ot':> ; Ii! f"' t$t .1 I " fs4, , " 5",' I '?' " "'OA:...".c"''$:(... t "ø .. ," , " intimidating, but he managed to stay on. Their route took them by defiles further and further into the mountain, past slopes of scree and under cliff walls of pallid stone "that refracted the heat of the sun. Wafts of icy air came from the peaks above. It was dusk when they halted where a trickle of water oozed from the cliff. F arouq produced a small silver cup, watched it fill, and handed it to Joost. The serv- ants licked the water from the cliff face, mumbling a thanks to heaven. They were sent on with the fish, while Farouq and Joost spent the night on the mountain, huddled against the camels for warmth. So they spent the next night, and the night after. Dur- ing the second day Joost occasionally remembered that this joggle of ascent and descent, snatched views of distant loveliness, unending proximity of rock, was the dctuality of that solemn, sleep- ing bulk he had Seen from the Rosa Mundi. BJ the next day, thirst, the fa- tigue of riding camel-back, his vision